Axle for motor road-vehicles.



JULES NIcLAUssEAND A LRERT NIcLAUssE, orrARIs, ERANoE.

, Axim: non Moron Rogin-vEHIcLEsV` To allcvhom 'it may concern: l

Be 1t known thatwe, JULES NrcLAUssE v and ALBERT NrcLAUssE, residingl at the city of Pars, Republic of France, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Axles for Motor Road-Vehicles,t which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

Motor axles up till now havebeen Vmade in several pieces castv or forged which Were thenbolted or brazed to ether. Thismethod by reason of the di `erent parts, is not very reliable because of the possibility of the bolts coming loose orof thel artsbreakingwhere they are brazed, an this draw# backgwas becoming'greater'because of theconstant increase Yin the Weight of motor vehicles and in the increased horse power of 4 the motors. i

- The disadvan-ta es mentioned as -far as the.-necessity Vof spl is-A concerned, has resulted in vem loying fixed axles supporting the diderential) mechanismor elsel special axles with hollow axle journals` admitting of kan outside mechanism; Thisinvention-has for its.- object arear axle--or tubular bridge for, motor road vcdriving Wheels.

hicles-'made in one piece ,without brazed joints, forming a gear'ease and'allowing'of .taking away` in a single pieceall the trans-v mission mechanism contained: its general formation making it possible to splay the According to bodyof the axle is ,a tube usually made of steelin one piece Without any brazel joints, contracted at its ends, and enlarged in the middle so asto present a form of equal re.

sistance which gives a minimum of weight withgthe maximum of rigiditywithout adding strengthening pieces.

The centralpart formsa kind 'of annular chamber and has two openings allowing of introducing into the axle the different pieces of mechanism forming the :differential andtransmission gear afterthey have been. assembled; One ofthe openings vis closedA bythe supportf for.A the transmission' mechanismof the motor; the other is closed by la sortzof cover whichallows of-,inspecting the axle mechanism without taking it down and Without touching the coach Work as oneis obligedlto do-With the types of axle now 1n use.

The contracted end of the tubular axle forms a support for the vannularaxle box of ayingthe driving Wheels j opening, large enough to pass the the present invention the 'Specification of LettersPatent.. Patented Sept. 29', -1908. Application filed April 1, 1.9(IJ6.V Serial No.4 312,483.'

inside the hub which is drivenby means of a the driving wheels, for thisl purpose passing transmission on the axle.- By this means vit is possible to splay the driving wheels by j inclining the two parts of the tubular. axle at a suitable angle .to the horizontal. In order to effect this itis obviously necessary to employ a form of ty nsmission not in line between the differential gear and the driving wheels,

This transmission is effected this invention by shafts on either side of theg` differential gear by means of cardan joints:

InA the` accompanying drawings which yillustrate 'one way of carrying out our 1n ventionz Figure 1 1s a longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 2 is a plan view, part being a yhorizontal section. Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line A A Figs. 1 and`2.

As is shown in the drawing the vvmotor axle comprises aA tubular casing 1 made in one iece without any brazed'joints, with an enarged part in the middle. This, enlarged parth'asftwo openings of which one is closed y` the 'support 2 introduced and put in place through the other opening. This sup- -port 2 carries or contains all the internal transmission mechanism that is to say, the axle 3 receiving its .movement from the vchange speed gear by means of the intermediate shaft 4 through the cardan joint 5,v the bevel gearing G and 7, the 4differential gear v8, and the longitudinal shaft 9. The second transmlssion mechanism justl mentioned mounted on the support 2 is closed by a assembled cover 10 lwhich allows of getting at the 'inl ternal mechanism without taking'anything down, The contracted parts ofthe axle 1 .have bearings 11 to which are fastened the springs which suspend the carriage and 1receive at their ends the annular axle boxes 12 of the driving wheels. -The axle boxes are driven from the differential gear 8 by shafts 13 inside the axle having at their end a disk 14 With projections 1'5 'engaging With corresponding recesses 16 on the hub 17.0f the riving wheels; This arrangement makes it easily possible to make the different pieces larger longitudinally. The tWo halves of the axle 1, instead of being in line with one another, form, in the case where it is desired to splay the Wheels, a certain angle with one another in a vertical plane as is shown in the drawing Fig. 1-. Thejshafts 13 are then connected to the differential 8` by the cardan joints 18. y

As a result of the relative arrangement of the different parts it is sufficient when taking to pieces the transmission mechanism to simply-unscrew the caps 19 of the wheel `hubs to remove the two shafts 13 whose square ends 20 engage the cardan joints 18,

then to unfasten the shaft 4 at its front or back joint, and lastly to unscrew res ectively the bolts 21 of the support 2 an 22 pf the cover 10 in `order to be able to draw` out in a sin le piece the whole of the transmission mec anism.

The parts are assembled by performing the above operations in the reverse order, theparts being then from dust'the axle and its cover forming a casing.

i withan axle comprising a tubular body with the gear support arranged to be j dinally within the axle with one secured f suita sha an enlarged middle sitely disposed lateral mission gear mounted portion having oppoopenings, ower transon a suita passed together with the transmission gear through one of the openin s and'secured on` the inner opposite side of te tube to close the other opening, and a cap opening, of a drive shaft extending longituend con- -nected with the transmission gear and the other with the drive wheel of the vehicle.

2.4 Ina mot-or vehicle, the combination, with anA axle comprising a tubular body with an enlarged middlev ortion, having op ositely disposed lateralpopenings of dissimi ar size, power transmission gear mounted'on a le sup ort, the gear support arranged to be asse(v together with the transmission gear t rough the larger of the openings and on the. inner opposite side of the tube to close the smaller raniged to close the larger opening, of rive ts extending longitudinally within the axle with their inner endsconnected with the transmission gear and their outer ends with the drive wheels of thevehicle.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination, with an axle comprising a tubularbody with an enlarged middle portion having oppositely disposed lateral openings, power transmission gear mounted on a suitable sup ort, the gear support arranged to be passe together with the transmission gear through one of the openings and secured on theoppo- A site side of the tube to close the other o penlng, and a cap arranged to close the first opening, -of drive shafts extending longitudicompletely protected le support,

arrangedV to close the irst opening, and a ca ar-l nally Within the axle with their inner ends connected with the transmission gear, a pinion on the outer end of each drive shaft, and teeth carried by the drive wheels and meshing with the pinion. 4 l

4. In a motor vehicle, the combination, with an axle comprising a tubular body with an enlarged middle portion having opposi'tely disposed lateral openings, power transmission gear mounted on a suitable support, the gear support arranged to be passed together with the transmission gear through one of the openings and secured on the opposite side of the tube to closethe other opening,`and a opening, of drive shafts extending longitudinally within the axle, an axially disengageable coupling between the inner ends oi" the drive shafts and the transmission gear, a pinion on the outer end of each drive shaft, teeth carried by the drive wheels and meshing with the pinion, and outer ends oi the tubular axle.

5. In a motor vehicle, the combination, with anaxle comprising a tubular body with in enlarged middle portion having op oa plate closing the sitely disposed lateral openings of dissimi ar size, power transmission gear mounted on a suitable support, the gear support arranged to be assed together with the transmission gear t ough the larger of the openings and secured on the inner opposite side of the tube to close the smaller opening, and a ca ai'- ranged to close the larger opening, of (rive shatts extending longitudinally within the axle at an angle to each other, a universal connection between the-inner ends of the shafts and the transmission gear, and a connection between the outer ends of the ,shafts and the drive wheels of the vehicle.

6. In a motor vehicle, the combination, with an axle comprising a tubular body with an enlarged middle portion having op Jositely disposedlateral openings of dissimilar size, lpower transmission gear mounted on a suita le sup. ort, the gear support arranged to be asse together with the transmission gear t rough the larger of the openings and secured on the inner opposite side of the tube to close the smaller opening, and a cap arranged to close'the larger opening, of drivc sha ts extending longitudinally within the axle at an anglef to each other, a universal joint interposed between the transmission gearA and the inner ends ofthe-shafts, an axially disenga cable coupling -between the innerends of t e a'xle and the universal joint, a pinion on the outer end of each d'rive shaft, teeth carried by the drive wheels and meshing with the i'nionhand a cap closing the outerlend of the tubular axle.

7. In a motor vehicle, the combination, with an axle com rising a tubular body with an enlarged midliile portion having op )ositely disposed lateral openings of dissim ar to close the smaller opening, and a capar ranged to close the larger opening, of drive shafts extending longitudinally within the -axleat an angle to each other, acardan joint interposed between the transmission gear and the inner ends oi the drive shafts, an axially 'disengageable coupling between the inner ends`of the drive shafts and the cardan joint,

a pinion on the outer. end oi each drive shaft and beyond the tubular axle with radially extending teeth, inwardly extending teeth carried by' the drive Wheels and meshing with the teeth of the pinion, and a cap embracing thle' pinion and closing the outer end of the ax e.

Y In vtestimony .whereof4 we have signed this :specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JULES NICLAUSSE. u

ALBERT NICLAUSSE.v Y

Witnesses: i

'JEAN VAUCHER, HANsoN C..CoxE. 

